Politics must also find ways to reach young citizens. The French government uses Twitch, the live-streaming platform mostly known for broadcasting video games.
A Dialogue with the Public on Twitch
This is behind the debates: With the “Grand Debates”, President Macron of France is currently trying to establish a kind of dialogue with the country’s citizens. Debates and discussions take place in various locations to reach as many people as possible. Their opinions and suggestions are collected. The government then tries to implement these.
The “Grand Debates” are a reaction to the “Yellow Vests” protests.
One of these “Grand Debates” is also set to take place on Twitch.
Why is the government using Twitch? Twitch is the largest platform for live streaming games. In the third quarter of 2018, 2.5 billion hours were streamed on Twitch. Fortnite streamer Ninja alone has almost 13.5 million followers.
The French government thus potentially reaches a very large audience on Twitch – especially younger citizens between the ages of 15 and 35.
Reaching Young Citizens is Important
Why are young viewers so important? It is generally difficult to reach young people in politics. Politics can be dry and many issues simply do not interest young people because they have little to do with them.
President Emmanuel Macron has also noticed this. Because very few young people attended his previous “Grand Debates”.
How did this even come about? Jean Massiet, founder of Accropolis, a political Twitch channel with several thousand weekly viewers, noticed that many have no idea what the “Grand Debates” are at all.
He then contacted the Prime Minister’s office and suggested holding one of the debates on Twitch. The idea was very well received.
How does the debate work? The “Grand Debate” on Twitch takes place today for 11 hours. Currently, you can tune in to Twitch and watch. Ten members of the government, including Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, will participate.
What are the topics? The four cornerstones of the “Grand Debates” will be discussed, including “Democracy and Citizenship”, “Financial Policy”, “Organization of the State” and “Environmental Policy”.
Moreover, the government members want to address young people directly by discussing youth involvement in politics.
